Fallout: New Vegas has a horrifying secret ending we're only just discovering

Fallout fans are discovering a horrifying secret ending in Fallout: New Vegas for the first time.

Considering that Bethesda Softworks originally intended for Fallout: New Vegas to be DLC for 2008’s Fallout 3, it never turned out to be bad and is widely considered to be one of the best entries in the post-apocalyptic series, with very respectable scores of 84 from critics and 8.6 from users on Metacritic.

Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, originally released on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Fallout: New Vegas was also supported by a wealth of DLC, some of which was probably better than the DLC for Fallout 3. Perhaps the best of the bunch for this beloved spin-off title is ‘Dead Money’.

“Welcome to the Sierra Madre Casino! The casino’s mythical contents are lusted after by desperate wasteland scavengers, who tell stories of intact treasure of the old world buried deep within its vault,” reads the synopsis of Dead Money.

“Lured here by a mysterious radio signal advertising the long-awaited grand opening of the casino, you are thrown into a high-stakes game where you’ll have to work with three other lost souls if you want to survive.”

Without giving too much away, ‘Dead Money’ has a dark tone and can perhaps rival the sinister Fallout 3 quest ‘Tranquillity Lane’. But please be mindful of spoilers ahead for the DLC in question.

“The secret Elijah ending is terrifying and one of the worst things the courier could do,” posted Redditor Sad-Commission2027.

“If you aren't familiar with the secret ending from the ‘Dead Money’ DLC, it involves siding with Elijah. The option only appears under two conditions: the first is a vilified reputation with the New California Republic (NCR), and the second is to exhaust any dialogue options with Veronica about Elijah.”

In a nutshell, you team up with Elijah, which results in you mass murdering factions, NCR and Legion, by blowing up the Hoover Dam. In other words, as Sad-Commission2027 puts it, the secret ending is mass genocide for a reason that does not justify its cause.

“However, on the bright side, at least you got them to stop fighting!” joked Thornescape.

Fallout: New Vegas and all of its DLC are playable on modern Xbox consoles and PC.